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Test No.2126
Sri Lanka won when they had almost abandoned hope. From the penultimate ball of a gripping final day, Shaminda Eranga found a hostile delivery to bring their first series win in England. James Anderson, who could only fend it to the leg side in self-preservation, dropped to his haunches in despair. Moeen Ali's immense maiden Test century was briefly forgotten, submerged beneath an ecstatic Sri Lankan celebration. An indomitable backs-to-the-wall display by Moeen had come so close to sparing England: an unbeaten 108, unblemished even, made from 281 balls. England's last five wickets had clung on for all but two balls of the final day. Pride had been salvaged, perhaps a captain had been spared too, but it is Sri Lanka who can celebrate a special moment in their Test history. Sri Lanka's last pair held out for five balls in the first Test at Lord's. This time the task was much harder for Moeen and Anderson: 20.2 overs. Even in Cardiff, when Anderson and Monty Panesar famously held off Australia in 2009, they only saw out 11.3. This time Anderson summoned a heroic 55-ball nought, all signifying nothing. Sri Lanka go crazy after the final wicket falls with a ball to spare, England v Sri Lanka, 2nd Investec Test, Headingley, 5th day, June 24, 2014 Tension slowly seeped into the final day as it only can in Test cricket. The crowd was sparse - Yorkshire had folded its arms in condemnation, convinced like all but the most incorrigibly optimistic that England's abject collapse to 57 for 5, well adrift of a target of 350, had sealed their fate - but a night's sleep had cleared muddled heads and Headingley, treacherous Headingley, not the sort of pitch to turn your back on, behaved like an old softie. At only a fiver entrance fee for the final day, Yorkshire had turned its back on a classic. Moeen, a cricketing free spirit, played with such judgment and self-denial that he must have explored parts of himself never visited before. He surely surprised even himself, suppressing the silky ambition of his batting during a strikingly unselfish innings in which his most positive shots were expertly selected. He met the second new ball with conviction and, in only his second Test, he made light of his international experience with impassioned advice to England's tail. Only with nine wickets down did Moeen seek to steal the strike, only now did his timing begin to go awry as the demands weighed upon him. But his concentration was unwavering. His century came with half-an-hour remaining, flicking Nuwan Pradeep off his pads, but it had always felt like an afterthought in an innings where he appeared entirely consumed by England's survival. This was not as much an innings as personal growth before your eyes. '''Fall of wickets: '''Fall of wickets: '''Fall of wickets: '''Fall of wickets: '''Match details *Series Sri Lanka won the 2-match series 1-0 *Player of the match AD Mathews (Sri Lanka) *Player of the series JM Anderson (England) and AD Mathews (Sri Lanka) *TV umpire PR Reiffel (Australia) *Match referee AJ Pycroft (Zimbabwe) *Reserve umpire RT Robinson Close of play *Day 1 - England 1st innings 36/0 (AN Cook 14*, SD Robson 21*, 15 ov) *Day 2 - England 1st innings 320/6 (MJ Prior 3*, CJ Jordan 4*, 104 ov) *Day 3 - Sri Lanka 2nd innings 214/4 (DPMD Jayawardene 55*, AD Mathews 24*, 73 ov) *Day 4 - England 2nd innings 57/5 (JE Root 6*, 26.2 ov) *Day 5 - England 2nd innings 249 (116.5 ov) - end of match Match notes Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 External links *Scorecard at Cricinfo.com Category:Test Matches